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Elbit Systems of Australia has concluded the delivery phase of the Land 125 Phase 3C contract to supply XACTth65 thermal weapon sights to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the company announced on 13 May.
The compact XACTth65 thermal weapon sights, delivered under a contract signed in 2016, weigh 450g and are capable of high performance during day and night operations.
The maintenance phase of Land 125 will continue until mid-2020.
Dan Webster, managing director of Elbit Systems of Australia, said: ‘The success of the contract was another important aspect of the company’s strategic partnership with the army and the ADF more broadly.
‘Technology is moving very quickly right across our very diverse offering, and weapon sights are no exception. The th65 thermal sight is just the beginning of the role technology will play in sighting systems, with the integration of sight data into the battle management system likely to be the next step.’
Hybrid-electric drive technology may address the growing energy demands of land warfare in future.
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The selection of Hanwha’s K239 Chunmoo long-range precision fires system, with a contract expected to be signed on 30 January, makes Norway the second European country to choose the system. It is expected an operational system will be in service within four years.
This year has begun with main battle tanks taking the lead while orders for large logistics and support vehicles continued from last year. Additionally, two of the British Army’s most significant contracted vehicle programmes, Ajax reconnaissance vehicle and Challenger 3 tank, continued to make news in January.
Canada is improving its Leopard main battle tank fleet but before this is fully completed, it is expected to begin looking for new vehicles.